Canucks ticket renewal rate flags

Victor de Bonis, right, the COO and Alternate Governor of Canuck Sports and Entertainment shares the podium with Nadir Mohamed, left, President and CEO, Rogers Communications, as the team formally announces the deal that gives the media company naming rights to Rogers Arena October 8th, 2010, at GM Place.

Photograph by: Stuart Davis
, PNG

VANCOUVER - Vancouver Canucks season-ticket packages are being sold to the general public not currently on the team’s waiting list for the first time in nearly a decade, as the organization tries to fill seats left empty by fans who did not renew their tickets.

Victor de Bonis, chief operating officer of Canucks Sports & Entertainment, acknowledged Tuesday that renewal rates are down after a disappointing season that saw both general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella fired. But de Bonis said renewals are not down as dramatically as some feared they might be.

“It’s fair to say that everyone was unsure of what to expect after last season,” de Bonis said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas, where he attended Tuesday night’s NHL awards. “We have work to do. However, we are pleasantly surprised at how our season-ticket members have responded so far.

“We are down, but it’s hard to say how much we are down because we are still in the renewal process. It is quite a complicated process because we have full season-ticket holders, half-season-ticket holders and quarter-pack members. I would say we are probably about five per cent down from where we’d like to be normally.”

De Bonis said the team is going through its season-ticket waiting list, which numbered about 2,000, but expects ticket packages will be available to the general public. In fact, the Canucks this week are launching an advertising campaign — called Change is Coming — to attract new season-ticket holders.

“At the end of the day we are expecting we are going to have some season-tickets for folks and that is why we are starting this campaign over the next couple of weeks during the draft week and free agency,” de Bonis said.

“What has been exciting about this process is that there have been so many people who have been waiting to get tickets and it’s been a really great injection of energy for them and for us, too. It has been a refreshing couple of months to say the least around our offices with everybody and the changes that have been made. Everyone is excited.

“Right now, the opportunity is there for (fans). Over the next couple of weeks we are confident the majority of these seats get sold. We just allocated 300 or 400 seats, I am not sure of the exact number, for this program, because we have to go through our renewal process so we have to be careful not to put out too much inventory.

Depending on where we are at the end of the summer you could see a second wave of opportunity. I would encourage everybody, if they want to get on board and be a member, this is a great time and chance to do it.”

The Canucks ended last season with a sellout streak of 473 games, the second longest in professional sports. That streak began way back on Nov. 14, 2002. But late last season there were lots of empty seats at Rogers Arena and de Bonis attributed that to ticket-holders who weren’t using their tickets.

“Even in a good year you may have 700 people who don’t show up,” he said. “We noticed that trend increasing last season. There were a few games when the bowl wasn’t as full as it normally is.”

De Bonis said he’s confident the team can keep its sellout streak intact.

“The way things have been going so far we feel really good about the direction and we hope we are going to keep the sellout streak going,” he said. “But at the end of the day we need some members to join us and participate in the program.”

Under new president of hockey operations Trevor Linden, the Canucks have reached out to their season-ticket holders in a big way this off-season. The team has had five town hall meetings with season-ticket holders where Linden, de Bonis and new general manager Jim Benning have answered questions.

“It has been a really good process to go through,” de Bonis said.

About 6,000 fans are expected to attend what de Bonis called a “season-ticket member summit” on July 9 at Rogers Arena.

In past years, about 95 per cent of season-ticket holders renewed their packages. This year, de Bonis estimates that number dropped to about 90 per cent.

The Canucks did not raise their season-ticket prices for the coming season. Season-ticket packages offer a discount of about 40 per cent over single-ticket prices and range from $65 to $87.50 in the upper bowl (for an approximate total of $2,295 to $3,937.50 over a combined 45 pre-season and regular season games) and $114 to $117.50 ($5,130 to $5,287.50 plus taxes over a 45-game season) in the lower bowl. Club seats go for between $238 and $245 ($10,710 and $11,025 over a season).

The Canucks normally cap their season-ticket sales at between 17,000 and 17,500. Rogers Arena seats 18,910 for Canucks games.

Victor de Bonis, right, the COO and Alternate Governor of Canuck Sports and Entertainment shares the podium with Nadir Mohamed, left, President and CEO, Rogers Communications, as the team formally announces the deal that gives the media company naming rights to Rogers Arena October 8th, 2010, at GM Place.

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